Good Soldiers
by The Dragon Legend
Summary: Two of the Republic's finest men have different opinions about what makes a good soldier.


Good Soldiers

"Hey, Cody."

"Hey. What's up?"

Rex hesitated a moment. "Did you… hear about what happened to Fives?"

Cody looked up from the command consol. "Yeah. But I could hardly believe it. Did he seriously try to kill the Chancellor?"

There was no one else in the command center, allowing the two clones to speak privately.

Rex sighed. "Yeah. Said there was some big conspiracy."

"I heard he caught some parasite that damaged his biochip and caused him to go insane." Cody shook his head. "What a way to lose a good man."

"I remember when he was still a shiny."

Cody nodded. "I remember when he helped us stop that surprise attack on Kamino."

Rex bit his lip before continuing. "…Do you still remember Umbara?"

"I try not to. That place was a nightmare. Course… you had it a lot worse than I did. Who would have thought that a Jedi would betray the Republic?"

"Fives did. He knew something was off from the beginning. He knew that his orders weren't right. If only I had listened to him sooner…"

For a while, the only sounds were the humming of the computers.

"You think that maybe part of what he said was right?" Rex asked at last. "That maybe there is something going on?"

Cody looked at him in shock. "Of course not! General Krell might have been a traitor, but the Chancellor being involved in some conspiracy? That's just insane!"

"I know, but obviously something made him believe that."

"He had gone insane! There was no logic behind anything he said! The Chancellor would never do that! He never even could do that! This why we need those biochips. So, we don't come up with absurd theories."

Rex sighed and looked away. "Yeah, you're probably right. I guess I just feel… responsible for what happened on Umbara."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over what Krell did."

"Yeah, but I trusted him more than I trusted my friend."

"Well, at least we can learn from our mistakes."

Rex nodded "I'm trying to."

There was another moment of silence between them.

"Well, it's been a long day. Goodnight." Rex walked away.

Instead of going to bed he went down the hall to the armory. Wolffe and Gregor were waiting for him.

"How'd it go?" Wolffe asked.

"No dice. You guys?"

"Nothing."

"This might be easier if we were able to be more direct." Gregor said.

"You know we can't do that." Rex admonished. "If we tell people what we're doing and they don't believe us, we'll end up like Fives. I don't think our little group is gonna get any bigger."

"What are we even supposed to do anyway?" Wolffe asked.

"I don't know. We wait, I guess."

* * *

Rex was in the barracks, contemplating his life. The Republic was long gone and the Empire had taken its place. Most of the Jedi were dead, and Anakin… Rex had no idea. He was supposed to be dead too, but Rex didn't know if he believed that.

Cody announced his presence by knocking on the door. "Lord Vader is looking for you. He's got a lead on Kenobi."

Rex followed Cody down the hall.

"Finally, we can put an end to that traitor."

Rex stopped in his tracks. "You don't… really mean that, do you?"

Cody turned around in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Well he was your friend, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, well now he isn't."

"Do you actually believe he would betray the Republic?" Rex questioned.

"Well apparently he did."

"But doesn't it seem a little off?"

"It doesn't matter." Cody snapped. "The Chancellor gave the order. Now come on, we have a job to do."

The two of them boarded a ship and flew to Kashyyyk. Rex followed behind Vader as he cut through the innocent villagers and could muster up no emotion besides a heavy depression. Cody didn't seem that bothered as he efficiently shot any Wookies that were out of reach of Vader's saber.

Two Jedi jumped out of the trees. Neither of them was Kenobi. They went right for Vader. Even two on one, they had no chance.

Rex and Cody stayed out of the way. Jumping in would only get them killed, if not by the Jedi, then by Vader.

The Jedi saw that they were losing. "Run!" the older one yelled, and Rex realized that they were probably a Master and Padawan pair.

The younger one ran.

"Go after him!" Vader ordered.

Cody took off immediately with Rex on his heels. The chase led them deep into the jungle. The Jedi was faster than they were and was pulled farther ahead. Cody threw a grenade to stop him. The explosion knocked him down, enabling the clones to catch up. Cody bashed him in the face with his blaster and kicked the lightsaber away.

"Where is Kenobi?" Cody demanded.

"I don't know!"

Cody punched him. "Where is he? We were told that he was here."

"I don't know where he is!"

Cody hit him again. And again.

"Stop!" Rex cried, unable to watch any longer.

Cody gave him a look. One that Rex could feel even through his helmet. "Why?"

"Because this isn't right."

"What are you saying?" Cody asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.

"Don't you see what's happening here? Fives said that the Chancellor was plotting to kill the Jedi, and suddenly all the Jedi are labeled traitors! This is what he was talking about!"

"It doesn't matter!" Cody shouted.

Rex blinked in shock. "Doesn't matter? Your friend has been labeled a traitor and you say it doesn't matter?"

"He's a traitor! Just like General Krell was!"

Rex was momentarily stunned by the hatred in Cody's voice. "How can you say that?"

"How can you question the orders of the Chancellor?"

The Jedi they had both forgotten about chose this moment to make his move. He shoved Cody off of him and took off sprinting. Cody tried to shoot him, but Rex tackled him. The Jedi disappeared.

"What is wrong with you?" Cody snarled. "You know Vader is going to have our hides for letting him get away!"

"I'm not going back to him. I can't do this anymore." Rex started to walk away.

Cody raised his blaster, aiming it at Rex's back. "I can't let you do that."

Rex stopped. "Do you honestly trust the Chancellor more than you trust me?"

"I don't have a choice."

"Yes, you do. You have one right now. I know the biochip makes it hard, but you _can_ think for yourself! Please, just try for me! For your brother!"

Cody shook his head. "What happened to you? How could you betray the Republic?"

"I didn't betray the Republic. The Republic betrayed us. And the Jedi."

Cody pulled the trigger. Rex simultaneously ducked and twisted around, in a fraction of a second he aimed and fired.

Cody was hit in the chest. He toppled over backward, hitting the forest floor hard. Rex walked over to him and removed his helmet. Cody's eyes stared back up at him.

"Didn't… want… to kill you. Was just… following orders."

They light faded from Cody's eyes.

Rex reached forward and closed them. He then picked up the discarded lightsaber and wandered into the depths of the jungle.

Eventually, he found a ship concealed in the foliage. Upon investigation, he found the Jedi he was chasing earlier inside trying to start the engines. When he noticed Rex, he panicked, looking for a way out.

Rex simply held out the lightsaber. The Jedi looked at him, confused.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I just need a ride off this planet."

They got the ship started and fled the system.

* * *

Years later, he got in contact with Wolffe and Gregor again. They told him that the Empire had decommissioned the clone army. Rex had been labeled "missing in action" and was presumed dead. They asked him what happened to Cody.

Rex said, "He did what he was told, but not what was right."


End file.
